Yes I am going to talk about Torres, so before you say “Get over him”, I am already over him, he is gone, betrayed our club and burnt the bridge. I don’t care how many goals he scored or what he did while he was a Red, the way he left disrespected his loyal fans. Kids, please don’t follow this fool’s example, this is not a good way to part, very unprofessional. The list of the so called “Judas” players is growing, Fernando Torres has now joined Michael Owen and Javier Mascherano. I feel I have to vent because this behaviour is unacceptable. Why am I writing this now, Three weeks after the transfer window closed? A certain event in Amsterdam today made me realise how professionals do it right.
First of all I am not bitter because they left to seek “glory” with another club but rather on the manner in which they left. We have had many players who have left us to join other clubs in the past however the vast majority left a part of them at Liverpool FC. A recent shiny example of this is Xabi Alonso, we all loved him and were gutted when he joined Real Madrid however he did it in a professional way and respected our club in doing so. Since his departure he has even shown publicly that he still has a soft spot for LFC. I am not asking for all former players to do what Xabi did however a goodbye letter would be nice. Ryan Babel wasn’t always the most liked person at Anfield however he left with class tweeting a nice message to all of us Liverpool fans. Luis Suarez is another shinning example of how to get things done, he flew to Amsterdam today to say his goodbyes to the fans and his former team-mates, now that is pure class.
When I left my previous job I departed in good terms, I was unhappy there however I still gave them four weeks of notice and trained the one who was replacing me. I have since stayed in touch with my former coworkers and bosses and even allowed them to call me if they had any questions on something I had knowledge about. It is called being professional, can we get a little courtesy from these players as well? After all it is the fans who pay their wages by buying the shirts with their names on them and spending the money to go to games.
Torres left many kids brokenhearted, they had bought his shirts, hung his poster above their beds and idolised his every move. The way he left was shameful, not even a letter thanking all the fans for the memories, for all the bouncing, the standing by him when his performance was lacking. Is that too much to ask? Instead he went to Chelsea and rubbed further salt in our wounds by claiming that they are a bigger club (a comment he later retracted).
Javier Mascherano has gone to Barcelona and found out how comfortable their bench is after claiming his dream had come true by joining the Catalans. This was a player that was rescued from West Ham and was given the opportunity to play the best football of his career with us. He left, insulting our club with these comments, we are still waiting for the goodbye letter from him.
And then of course there is Michael Owen who left Liverpool to join a ‘bigger club’, his quest has taken him to Real Madrid and then to Newcastle who he dissed when they got relegated. Then he chose to go to our arch-rivals on a free transfer. His time at United has been marred by injuries and bench sitting, even if United win the league title this year Owen will not be eligible for a medal as he hasn’t played enough games. Now the word is that Owen might end up moving to Everton at the end of the season and if that happens he would have won only one medal (Carling Cup) since leaving Liverpool.
If you are going to quit, quit professionally.
End of rant.
YNWA
-Antoine
I was very very impressed when I heard about Suarez and the plans he had in returned to say farewell to Ajax. My respect for him has undoubtedly grown today.
Hey Antoine! Hope you feel better habib! :-)
Some people leave good memories, other’s don’t. Some people have class, other’s don’t!
I do hope that after this venting exercise you’ve taken a big breathe and will put this all behind you. Believe me, people that act this way are not worth the bother or our respect.
There has never been a successful Liverpool forward that left us to go on to better things , not even the all time great Ian Rush could manage it & after falling on hard times at Juve was delighted to resume normal service with us a season later .
Torres seriously cant be mentioned in the same discussion as Ian Rush but to acknowledge him I will & have done .
We signed Torres not as a superstar but as a top class young , experienced Spanish senior international with the capability of filing the Magic boots of Liverpool’s No. 9 .
He went from being a combative goal in 3’ish striker to being a masterful technician chasing the holy grail of a goal per game for us & now he will return to his goal in 3 self again .
Sadly Torres didnt realize the clubs effect on his game , thought it was all down to him & for some strange reason decided that the dwindling Chelsea who to my knowledge have never won anything in Europe are somehow a big club or bigger than us , a bona fide European monster .
So off he went to be replaced by the Christian Vieri clone better known as Andy Carroll who I already rate as a better out & out finisher who was made to play in a Kenny Dalglish side.
I think both you & Torres could do with someone explaining the difference between being the latest & being the greatest is .
Truth is Torres Or Owen although decent goal scorers or us never were worthy of shining Ian Rush’s Boots , they weren’t even worthy of shining John Aldridge’s Boots .
For me Rush is the best Striker I have seen in the top flight & not just because of his goals or trophy collection but because of the way he worked at his game & worked for the team no matter who managed him .
When you look on it like that ?
Please tell me who is Fernando Torres ?
@ Antoine Zammi and to calm down calm down , reading your article/post was great and expresses the way I feel about the players that left in that manner , good riddance to them !
Torres left Atletico doing much the same as Suarez did for Ajax. Clearly, Liverpool didn’t mean as much to him. For him, it was just a job to do, despite all the crap he spoke to the contrary. In the end, he’s lost all respect. Not only from Liverpool fans, but from those all over the world. Except Chelski’s of course. For Fernando Torres, the thing that comes first and foremost is Fernando Torres himself as this entire episode has made evident and players who are out only for themselves will never be sucessful.
Spot on, Antoine.
However unhappy and frustrated Torres became at Anfield, it was just plain rude of him to leave the way he did.
Players move on, and for many reasons – that’s professional sport the world over. But the players’ relationship with fans is something that elevates sport above mere business. The players are the fans’ avatars on the pitch; they are living out every fan’s fantasies. If they do it honourably, and understand that responsibility, then the fans will love them, and wish them well when they move on, if that affection, or even love, is acknowledged and returned.
Fans understand that players are ambitious and want to win things. What they can’t stomach is a player who fails to accept that it is as much their responsibility to make a team succeed as the rest of their team-mates, and who just want to slot into an already successful unit.
Luis Suarez seems to have understood that, and responded to it – and look at the events in the Ajax ArenA – I don’t recall seeing anything that surpassed that for any player.
Fernando Torres had that sort of departure from Atletico Madrid, and could have had it at Anfield too – real gratitude from his legion of fans, and best wishes for his future on pastures new. Instead, he soured it by moving to one of our rivals, when he said he wouldn’t play for another English team, and then saying that they were a bigger club. He had long enough to learn that there is no bigger club than Liverpool in England, and that it is measured by more than just how many trophies you’ve won in the last five years or so.
Ironic that the club he thinks is bigger than LFC might win nothing, and there’s even an outside chance that they’ll finish below us in the Premiership this season.
Michael Owen made a similar mistake, and probably regretted it in the end. Still, he can count his millions and reflect at his leisure. Mascherano too. I hope Pepe Reina isn’t tempted to make the same error of judgement.
I’ll waste no time in worrying about any of these mercenaries. Instead, I’ll thank Ryan Babel and Xabi Alonso, who both left with dignity, and in Xabi’s case, having been treated pretty badly. I’ll also look forward to LFC becoming a real force in English and European football again. The pieces are falling into place, and the future looks bright.
Dirk Kuyt knows that, and has said as much in the news about his contract renewal negotiations. A real Liverpool player, if ever there was one – he understands.
Kenny is right, and we’ve known it all along. The club is bigger than any individual. Bill Shankly told us many years ago, and we understood then. It’s been the Liverpool way ever since, and will be so in the future.
Liverpool’s 1’st choice Number 9
You forgot to mention Luis Garcia, Antoine.
He left as a make-weight in the deal that brought Torres to Liverpool and he sent a letter to the Liverpool fans (which was displayed on the official site) thanking us for the support.
Plus he took time out to play in Carra’s testimonial!
Forget torres and look to the future, Suarez and Carroll
Also let’s remember the letter John Arne Risse wrote us when he left ( amongst a bit of shame from an own goal ). Much maligned but also well liked amongst the supporters , when he was sold , he left with his head held high and with a nice farewell to us.
Good article. But why do our previous players never get chance to parade a farewell? Because we firmly beleive there’s no greater club to move onto. That’s why we don’t afford them the honour. Torres broke all of our hearts but it’s now time to break his…. Since he joined the rent boys they’ve effectively dropped out of contention for 2 medals that the ladyboy left us to chase… Let’s see who has the last laugh yeh? YNWA
Watching the video of Suarez at Ajax today was really something. You can tell why Ajax wanted such a high fee, as the fans clearly adored him, and I suppose a club who lets its leader go needs to be able to save face to its supporters. (The moment where the camera caught a father trying to console his weeping son as Suarez made his way around the pitch was especially poignant.)
Funny that Ajax fans sing YNWA to Suarez as he leaves, and Torres sings YNWA to his Chelsea teammates as he arrives. Something tells me that Chelsea won’t be staying in the Champions League. Will be a long summer for Nando.
Ah Luis Garcia, I’d love him back, scored a beauty at Carra’s testimonial too, class!
Antoine, can you make an article about the top 10 sulkers of all time? You can start with this list (in no particular order)
1. Torres (La sulk)
2. Anelka (Le sulk)
3. Balloteli
4. Berbatov
5. Drogba
etc
These players never seem to smile and sulks all the way through the game
Hey guys how about backing me up against some united tosser on this link ? http://footballblog.co.uk/mediocre-manchester-united-winning.html/comment-page-1#comment-1530
Bloody hell. Even Albert Riera penned a letter thanking the supporters.
Alonso left but still hv my blessings, I’m not surprised Torres cld be so naughty. Despite their great talent, p’ple like this do not end up in the game well. Suarez showed a level of respect he’s got…… Pray that Carroll will the same to gain the blessings of his former club for good.
Alonso left but still hv my blessings, I’m not surprised Torres cld be so naughty. Despite their great talent, p’ple like this do not end up in the game well. Suarez showed a level of respect he’s got…… Pray that Carroll will do the same to gain the blessings of his former club for good.
Well said have no words. You will note the difference between Professional and money minded crups no Club at heart at all. Liverpoool viva Forever.Professional are Class which lasts forever !!!!!.
It’s all about the law of averages and ‘what comes around, goes around’. The 3 in question have so far fallen firmly onto their faces.3 mercenaries. I’m glad they’ve gone. Success is built around foundations of loyalty and mutual respect.
Let’s not forget about Luis Garcia and that fabulous letter he wrote to the fans- a perfect role model.
Alonso conducted himself superbly in the face of some rather adverse events surrounding his future i/c GB but he is top drawer.
Credit to Babel too. He was well positioned to give a bit of stick back but responded positively with decorum.
No player is bigger than LFC. Some just think they are.
Well said, let’s move on and look forward to his successors, how long before he’s looking for a ‘bigger club’
Nando left at the right time for him and the club. The way the club has been run over the last 4 years has been very poor so i’m not surprised that he had lost faith. The Hodgson appointment cost us Torres, the football the atmosphere was so poor that even our own fans were staying away from games. I just hate to think if he had left last summer. That money would of gone on repaying the debts and the spare change on Carlton Cole. And its a myth that he would of got a good reception if he had left and the end of the season. Everybody’s bitter because he has left for Chelsea,the team who have been our main rivals over the recent years. I think he has made a mistake in leaving Liverpool but it was a joy to see him play for the club, his partnership with Stevie G was breathtaking to watch and that shouldn’t be forgotten.
Ajax have a history of letting their players move on. So I wouldn’t like to see this happen at Liverpool unless it was the final game of the season and one of our top players were retiring.Lets focus on the players who are here now who despite their good and bad points have been great servants to the club.